Native Dawn Series book 14
Lycan Dawn book 3
Chapter 1
Hunter wasted no time getting down to business claiming Gina's body. Ravishing her with wild kisses. With feverish anticipation, freeing the buttons of her blouse from the buttonholes like a child unwraps a gift on Christmas morning. His fingers trembled as they traced a path over her silky skin. Blazing a trail that would take both of them to who knew where. He crouched on his knees between her thighs, crushing the sofa cushion beneath their combined weight. He'd made pretty good progress getting her naked. Oh, she was still mostly clothed. But, that little hitch to his plan would be remedied soon enough. He needed her out of her lacy bra and the silky panties she undoubtedly wore beneath a pair of faded jeans.
Peeling back her layers had taken time and plenty of hard effort. And now, with her beneath him, staring up at him with an expression so hot it stole his breath, it'd so been worth the work. Her body was so eager for everything he had to offer. And like him, she was done with the wait. Was he in love? Hell yeah! This woman had gotten to him in a bad, bad way. And he was more than ready to seal the deal and make her his in every way possible. With her lashes fluttering like butterfly wings and her lips pursed in a tight O of desire, her cheeks stained with a heated blush, and her breaths so soft in an exhale against his skin. He was a gone man and damn happy about it. Wasting no time freeing himself of his t-shirt, wanting nothing but skin on skin contact, his fingers moved to the waistband of her jeans.
Gina stared up at Hunter's magnificent torso. He was in, a word, breathtaking. Layers of finely sculpted muscle rippled beneath smooth bronze skin. He towered over her. Melting her into a puddle of lust with the heated desire far too evident in his dark, glittering eyes. Dawn light filtered in through the sheer curtains of her balcony door, highlighting the planes and sharp angles of his perfect body. She ran her fingers over his tight flesh, tracing smooth lines over his rock hard chest. His chest, his neck, and his belly, like hers, should be riddled with scars. Bitter reminders of all they'd suffered together. But, like her, his skin was flawless.
Weddings brought out the best in people. The reception was probably just now winding down with the rising of the sun. With him half-naked, on his knees between her thighs, staring at her with an expression that was all male, all desire, and filled with promises, she couldn't remember why she'd thought delaying this inevitable moment between them had seemed like such a good idea at the time.
Maybe, she'd mistakenly believed the two and a half hour drive back to her apartment in the city would give her time to clear her head. Maybe, it'd been the crush of Hunter's overwhelming family, the history of everything that had happened between the two of them, the happy smiles of the newly wedded couple, or just too much too soon. Possibly, it was that dance, feeling his arms tight around her and the closeness of him that had her scrambling for cover. After that dance, she'd asked him to bring her home. And without complaint or question, he had. Where did that leave them now? About to do this, about to embark down a path from which there was no way back.
Hunter wanted her with the same consuming, aching need that she wanted him. But, the absence of visible scars on their flesh was enough to make her grapple in the dim light for her blouse and pull it over her shoulders to hide her flawless skin. The vampire blood had worked miracles on their outside flesh. They were healed. But, they were far from whole. Gina's mind began to work overtime, scrambling through the lust filled haze of promised pleasure to bring her sense of self-preservation back on line. She wondered about the scars not quite so visible but every bit as real, scars hidden beneath the surface that might never heal. The ones she'd never revealed to him. And the ones he'd hidden from her. The ones that reflected in his eyes, and that she knew damn well were reflected in hers. They were two very screwed up people. And this...this thing about to happen between them was a disaster waiting to happen. "Hunter."
Hunter sat back on his haunches, confused. "What is it? I thought you wanted this?" Reaching out a hand, he stroked her cheek. She wanted him. Every fiber in his body told him that she wanted him with the same white-hot desire that he wanted her. He thought...well, it didn't matter what he thought. She was the only one that mattered. Gritting his teeth against the pressure in his groin, he scrubbed a hand through his hair and felt around on the floor to find his t-shirt. Pulling it over his head, he sat right and proper on the sofa. Leaving the no-man's land of the middle cushion, stretched out like miles instead of a mere twenty-four inches, between them.
"I do," Gina answered in a small voice. Wincing against the confusion etched across his beautiful face at her rejection. She wiggled to sit up and retreated to the far side of the couch. Avoiding him, she curled up into a protective ball, tucking her knees up under her chin. She looked down at her toes peeking out from beneath the hem of her jeans. Hunter had a way of stripping her bare with nothing more than a glance from his dark eyes. As if he could see past her defenses, deeper into the heart of who she was, down deep into where it mattered the most.
The red polish on her toenails stood out in contrast to the pale white of her leather upholstered sofa. She should have thought this through a little more carefully before she asked him up to her apartment. She should have...there were a lot of things she should have done before she'd admitted everything she had to him. Primarily, it might have been beneficial for the both of them if she'd done a reality check long before ever opening her mouth. "I'm afraid." She confessed. "Of everything."
She'd faked her recovery convincingly enough. Otherwise the well-meaning vampires responsible for nursing her back to health wouldn't have let her leave. Hunter wouldn't have either. She'd lied, about everything, denying nightmares. Hiding her fears behind a well-trained mask of perfect mental health. But, she couldn't lie anymore. Not to him. Half naked on her sofa was not the place for secrets. Between them, there could never be secrets. She worried that if she told him everything. He'd try to talk her into returning to the safety of the compound. Nestled in the heart of miles of thick, dark woods, deeply underground. The compound was the safest place for her and the last place she wanted to be. But, that wasn't her reason for pretending. She feared that he'd feel sorry for her.
Hunter reached out for Gina. Her face was twisted into an expression of worry and trepidation. She didn't resist as he gently gathered her up into his lap and pressed her cool cheek against the warmth of his chest. "Tell me." He ran his hands through her tangled brown hair. Highlighted with hints of gold and platinum, the strands caught the shimmery light of the dawn filtering through her curtains. And the only thing he could think as he ran his fingers through her curls was how the pretty the play of light and shadows were.
She distracted him past the point of good sense. No woman had ever affected him this dramatically, at least not in the last twelve years. And now was not the time to think about that. Gina had a way of working past the hard persona he showed the world. With nothing more than a glance at him from her green eyes and a bat of her lashes, she had gotten to the soft center of him. She didn't put up with his bullshit. Gina had gotten into his head and his heart. She'd forced him to confront his inner demons. She was a fierce little thing. And because she believed he was worth saving, he believed it too. Hunter grabbed a soft throw off the arm of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders. "I won't judge," he said gently. "I'm in no position to judge you for anything."
